The present invention relates to the control of aircraft under inclusion of transverse or lateral control surfaces, control drives, and appropriate transmission gearing and/or linkage, also including rudders with appropriate surfaces, control structures, transmission, etc., and more particularly, the invention relates to aircraft having wings with so-called winglets at their end, wherein specifically the winglets carry the side rudders.
Aircraft with delta or back-swept wings often have winglets at the wing ends. These winglets have a V-position in relation to the wing proper, or are oriented upright. It happens that the control surfaces arranged on these winglets and serving as rudders are located farther from the center of gravity of the aircraft than the conventional control surfaces of flaps used for transverse or lateral control and being arranged along the trailing edge of the wing, transverse or lateral control being provided in relation to the longitudinal axes of the craft. The same is true for other wing configurations including those wherein the ends of the wings still coincide more or less with the main plane of extension of the wings as a whole, as in the case, for example, in an aircraft with delta wings. From a general point of view, and owing to particular construction aspects, the point of attack of the air pressure forces acting on the flaps along the trailing edge of the wing on both sides are closer to the center of gravity than the points of air force acting on the winglets at the end of the wing, of course, assuming comparable wing spans.
For controlling aircraft as above, one uses lift producing elements as well as drag producing elements, such as spoilers. In the case of other kind of aircraft, including those of a so-called tail first wing configuration, the effect of side and rudder control and of transverse or lateral control, can be exchanged or appear exchanged under certain conditions of flight, because both kinds of control are in effect quite similar, almost identical. It is known to provide rudder surfaces for compensating interference such as yaw as well as for roll control. See here, for example, German Patent No. 28 09 244. Also, it is known to use flaps at the end portion of the wings for purposes of control or breaking. Flap deflections may even be similarly oriented on both wings or oppositely with corresponding different effects. In the case of uniform deflection the effects add. See here, for example, German printed patent application No. 35 15 976.